PORTLAND, Ore. - It's autumn and the crops are in, but for the state's marijuana growers, more of what may be Oregon's most lucrative harvest didn't make it to market. The Oregon Department of Justice says a record 245,000 plants were pulled up this year, more than double the 120,000 a year before. While authorities are getting better at finding where marijuana grows, said Don Nelson, who tracks the issue for the department, growers are getting smarter too. [continues 908 words]
To the Editor: All Oregon taxpayers should be very concerned about criminal justice and law enforcement resources being wasted arresting, jailing, and prosecuting a legal medical marijuana patient for making hash oil. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA) clearly states that usable marijuana includes the dried "leaves and flowers of the plant" and "any mixture or preparation thereof, that are appropriate for medical use." Clearly, converting marijuana into hash oil is a "preparation thereof" of the marijuana plant. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program is willing to educate local law enforcement about (OMMA). Such education will save local resources for serious crimes and offenses. Those knowledgeable about OMMA are certain that this patient will eventually be found innocent of these charges, but it is still a shame that limited local resources are being used to arrest, jail, and prosecute a medical patient instead of being utilized to combat severe and dangerous crimes. [continues 65 words]
To the Editor: Capt Kuhns is incorrect the following is in the OARs: 333-008-0010 Definitions For the purposes of OAR 333-008-0000 through 333-008-0120, the following definitions apply: (9) "Marijuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis family Moraceae, whether growing or not; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant or its resin. ... Most patients who choose to refine their cannabis to hashish use an ice water extraction method that purifies the herb. No petroleum-based products are used. This is very effective for using it as suppositories and edibles for those who cannot smoke or vaporize. As a person struggling in the twilight of a life ending disease I find it very disconcerting that law enforcement officers think they should be defining law to the detriment of the sick and dying. Jim Klahr Brookings, OR [end]
Provider Is Accused of Supplying Teens, Ineligible Adults A South Salem medical marijuana provider has been arrested on accusations of selling and providing marijuana to teens and noncardholding adults, police said Wednesday. Police were investigating a complaint that a homeowner in the [redacted] was dealing marijuana to minors, said Salem Police spokesman Lt. Dave Okada. "In this particular case, because it involved children, it was very high on the priority," Okada said. Police served a search warrant at the home and found a man, a woman and two teen girls, Okada said. One girl is a daughter of one of the adults and another girl was a friend staying at the home, Okada said. [continues 277 words]
Being in Portland for a conference, I caught your article on medical pot. As a police officer and detective (now retired), I learned that people from politicians to priests break the law. Of course some of the medical pot patients give in to temptation to sell excess pot, since the price an ounce fetches is the same as pure gold. When Oregon is allowed to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana for all purposes, my profession can stop wasting time chasing pot growers. By the way, during my 18 years of police service I was sent to zero calls generated by the use of marijuana. Howard J. Wooldridge Education specialist Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Washington, D.C. [end]
Beneficiaries of continued prohibition? Police, FBI, dealers, growers, gangs. Beneficiaries of legalization? Everyone but the above. Your article makes it perfectly obvious that the only real answer to the chaos you so accurately describe is full legalization. How ironic, then, that the only folks you speak to are those who have a major stake in the continuation of the status quo. You seem surprised that medical marijuana is a sham that's been used as a cover for illicit drug sales. Duh! That was the point of the whole medical marijuana thing in the first place! The answer isn't to scrap medical marijuana in favor of prohibition. The only answer that makes any sense is full legalization. [continues 71 words]
The Sunday Oregonian sounds the alarm about medical marijuana being out of control ("A smoke screen for criminals?," Oct. 21). You state, "The explosive growth of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program . . . also has provoked extensive abuse." But I see the 14,831 registered patients as free from arrest for treating their ailments with a plant under their doctor's recommendation. I don't sneer at those suffering from "common afflictions," just because their pain or disability doesn't come with chemotherapy or a wheelchair. [continues 101 words]
To the Editor: All Oregon taxpayers should be very concerned about the criminal justice and law enforcement resources being wasted arresting, jailing, and prosecuting a legal medical marijuana patient for making hash oil. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA) clearly states that usable marijuana includes the dried "leaves and flowers of the plant" and "any mixture or preparation thereof, that are appropriate for medical use." Clearly, converting marijuana into hash oil is a "preparation thereof" of the marijuana plant. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program is willing to educate local law enforcement about (OMMA). Such education will save local resources for serious crimes and offenses. Those knowledgeable about OMMA are certain that this patient will eventually be found innocent of these charges, but it is still a shame that limited local resources are being used to arrest, jail, and prosecute a medical patient instead of being utilized to combat severe and dangerous crimes. [continues 60 words]
Eagle Point and Medford Opportunity high schools were among 13 schools statewide removed from the state's watch list for schools with a high ratio of student expulsions for drug, weapon or violence-related crimes. The schools were added last year to the "persistently dangerous" watch list, which is maintained by the Oregon Department of Education under safety provisions of the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act. The change means no Jackson County schools are on the "dangerous" list. [continues 489 words]
Signature Gatherers Want to Change Marijuana Laws in Oregon, Which Has a High Rate of Users Oregonians, prepare for reefer referendum madness. Starting today, signature gatherers will ask Portland residents to put a law on next year's ballot decriminalizing possession of as much as an ounce of marijuana. It's a weird request, as possessing that much pot is already decriminalized statewide. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize a little dope, way back in 1973. Having a little marijuana is now a civil violation, like speeding, punishable by a $500 to $1,000 fine. [continues 880 words]
EUGENE -- The U.S. government's official policy on marijuana is that it's dangerous and illegal, even in states such as Oregon and California that have approved its medical use. Yet Uncle Sam prescribes pot for 68-year-old Elvy Musikka of Eugene, one of seven test subjects in a little-known federal medical marijuana program. "And yes," Musikka says, "I find it extremely hypocritical." A cheerful anti-prohibition activist given to big hats and hemp skirts, Musikka has gratefully accepted the federal government's cannabis for 19 years. But she no longer smokes it -- it's too weak. [continues 352 words]
Police Estimate 40 Percent of Medical Marijuana Growers Break the Law, but Patient Advocates Say It's Just a Few and the Real Issue Is Lack of Supply Oregon's medical marijuana program has grown colossally in recent years, with autumn harvests so robust it scarcely resembles the modest enterprise approved by voters in 1998. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act was sold to voters nine years ago with the prediction that about 500 people a year would apply to get relief from debilitating conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV and multiple sclerosis. [continues 1948 words]
Twenty-five years ago, in a cabin in Mosier, Sandee Burbank and a group of other mothers began talking about the futures they wanted for their children. The discussion grew into a group called Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse (MAMA), a nonprofit organization whose members travel the state, hoping to educate Oregonians about what they say are the dangers of some widely used legal drugs and the misconceptions about some illegal drugs. Burbank was joined by Alice Ivany and Jack Thomas on Tuesday afternoon at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library to discuss the group's approach to drug education, and to talk about the benefits of medical marijuana use. [continues 305 words]
Representatives of Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse (MAMA) stopped by the Democrat-Herald Tuesday to talk about the importance of educating yourself about drugs. The representatives, Executive Director Sandee Burbank, Jack Thomas and Alice Ivany, are on a three-week speaking tour. On Tuesday, they were also at a community meeting at the Corvallis public library. MAMA is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1982 to provide a wholistic approach to substance abuse. Founders felt that focusing on illegal drugs as "bad" gave the false impression that legal drugs were safe and "good." [continues 234 words]
OHSU - Survey results from teen athletes at 11 Oregon schools shock researchers A controversial study about drug testing of high school athletes found that such testing does not deter drug use. In fact, the mere presence of drug testing could increase risk factors for future substance use, the study by an Oregon Health & Science University doctor found. "It shocked us," said Dr. Linn Goldberg, who oversaw the study and heads the Division of Health Promotion and Sports Medicine at OHSU. The study, conducted at 11 high schools in Oregon, is the first randomized clinical trial to assess the deterrent effects of drug and alcohol testing on high school athletes. The results could have far-reaching implications at high schools and in districts that have embraced drug testing as a way to discourage teenage drug use. [continues 959 words]
He Urges Reworking of Law for Medical Growers Former Keizer city councilor Chuck Lee has requested that city officials look into creating an ordinance that would ban Oregon medical marijuana providers from growing near schools. On Thursday, Keizer Police investigated the theft of live medical marijuana plants from Anthony Beasley, who lives near McNary High School, police spokesman Capt. Jeff Kuhns said. Kuhns said that although police found that the medical marijuana provider was in compliance with state law, he has received feedback from many Keizer residents about the issue. [continues 309 words]
Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse tour the state to reveal the truth about legal drugs Everyday people are destroying their bodies with perfectly legal and easily accessible drugs, says Sandee Burbank, executive director for Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse. The worst part? They have no idea that they are doing this to themselves. Burbank spoke at the downtown Eugene Public Library last Friday as part of a state-wide MAMA tour. The organization is on a mission to pull back the veil on what Americans are being told to put into their bodies. [continues 718 words]
A pro-cannabis group stopped on the North Coast Monday during a three-week tour promoting a somewhat controversial but now 25-year-old message. All drugs should be weighed according to the same standards and evaluated on a level playing field, said Sandee Burbank, executive director and co-founder of Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse, or MAMA. That requires retooling the "illogical, draconian drug policy that threatens our families' health and well-being," and instead relying on "personal responsibility and informed decision-making," according to the group. [continues 774 words]
I'm writing about Rob McCallum's Sept. 27 thoughtful column: "Don't make the drug problem worse." As the parent of a 16-year-old, ideally I hope my son will never use any illegal drugs. However, if he does use an illegal drug, I would hope it's marijuana and only marijuana. Drug testing discourages this because marijuana is fat soluble. As a result, marijuana stays in a person's system for up to several weeks. On the other hand, drugs like meth, cocaine and heroin exit the body within a few days because they are water-soluble. Drug testing discourages marijuana use and encourages use of much more dangerous drugs like meth, cocaine and heroin. Would you want your children experimenting with meth or heroin instead of marijuana? Meth and heroin can and do kill. Marijuana does not. Meth, cocaine and heroin are highly addictive. Marijuana is not. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Consultant John Campbell's report confirmed what some have known anecdotally for decades. The Portland Police Bureau, even when Mayor Tom Potter was at the helm years ago, has had "an institutionalized culture" of apathy for the concerns of certain residents. The obvious disparity is there, in black and white: When confronting drug dealers and users in downtown and North and Northeast Portland, police have allowed their racial biases to influence meting out justice. At the mayor's request, Campbell, who worked on Potter's campaign and has years of experience teaching property owners how to clean up drug and gang activity, did four months of analysis of those arrested in the city's three drug- and prostitution-free zones. [continues 502 words]
Inside Oregon
